Monthly Archives: April 2012

Train2Game news: UK Charts – The Witcher 2 takes No.1

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Train2Game Blog readers see The Witcher 2: Assassin’s of Kings take top spot in the UK Charts in its first week on sale for Xbox 360. 98% of this weeks’ sales of the RPG from CD Projeckt and Namco Bandai were for Xbox 360, with 2% of copies sold being last year’s PC version.

CD Projekt has called The Witcher 2 “The most complex and non-linear story ever told on Xbox 360,″ and you can find out much more about the game and its development in The Train2Game Blog interview with  CD Projekt Environment Artist Marek Ziemak.

The Witcher 2 knocks last weeks’ chart topper FIFA Street down to No.2, with FIFA 12 and Kinect Star Wars non-movers at No.3 and No.4.Mass Effect 3 drops to No.5, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 slips one to No.6, ahead of EA’s FPS Battlefield 3 which also drops one spot to No.7.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, follows those above it by slipping one place to No.8, Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games is a non-mover at No.9, while Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 drops four to complete the top ten.

The UKIE Gfk Chart-Track All Formats Top 10 for the week ending 21st April 2012 is therefore as follows:

1. The Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition (Namco Bandai)
2. FIFA Street (EA)
3. FIFA 12 (EA)
4. Kinect Star Wars (Microsoft)
5. Mass Effect 3 (EA)
6. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 (EA)
7. Battlefield 3 (EA)
8. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda)
9. Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Sega)
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Activision)

New releases this week include Prototype 2 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

What are your thoughts on The Witcher 2 taking top spot? Are you playing it? Is it well deserved?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game student industry experience diaries: James Bouckley at Unity – weeks 5-6

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Train2Game student James Bouckley  is on a Train2Game work placement at Unity. In his latest industry experience diaries, he discusses working with pathfinding and more.

Read what he has to say about his Train2Game work placement  here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game Scribd page.

More Train2Game industry experience diaries are right here on The Train2Game Blog. 

Train2Game news: Valve employee handbook offers great insight into life at the company

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Train2Game students can get a great insight into what life is like for those working at Valve Software, thanks to the publication of a guidebook for new employees.

Dubbed ‘A fearless adventure in knowing what to do when there’s no one there telling you what to do,’ the Valve employee guidebook offers advice on everything from settling into the company, to deciding what projects to work on in the company’s manageress structure  to how to move your desk.

The handbook ends with an amusing glossary of people in terms detailing how Valve co-founder Gabe Newell is “Of all the people at this company who aren’t your boss, Gabe is the MOST not your boss, if you know what we’re saying.”

The Valve employee handbook is a fascinating read, and you can see it for yourself right here.

Perhaps you can take a small step towards working at Valve by taking in Gabe Newell’s advice to aspiring game developers here on The Train2Game Blog.

Keep up to date with the latest news from Valve here.

What are your thoughts on the Valve employee handbook? Does it inspire you?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game news: Dead Space story producer Chuck Beaver on getting into the industry

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Dead Space 2 Train2Game blog image

Train2Game students looking to get a job in the industry should regularly practice their skills and take up modding. That’s according to brilliantly named Dead Space story producer Chuck Beaver.

“I would say practice, practice, practice. Write entire stories for mods on any software you can, and implement them using something like Half-Life’s source code.” he said in EA’s latest breaking into the industry feature, echoing what Valve’s Chet Faliszek and id’s Tim Willits have previously told The Train2Game Blog.

“Oh, and buy and devour Robert McKee’s book called Story. It is the fundamental bible on how to write.” he added.

For those who have eyes on becoming a producer, the Dead Space man suggested internships are the best way forward.

“You need to get in the door as a Producer, so take internships as a Production Assistant in game companies. Learn the ropes of project management, working with creatives, and game making in general, so you can apply your writing training appropriately.” he said, before adding that a game design course is valuable for becoming a writer.

“I would also take game design courses, so you can know what you’re talking about, know the medium you’ll be managing, what its limitations are, etc. That is critical.” Beaver concluded.

The full interview with Dead Space story producer Chuck Beaver is over at EA’s The Beat blog.

Kingdoms of Amular: Reckoning Producer Benjamin Smith, Dead Space 2 game designer Brian Bartram, and EA Environment Artist Phillip Simmons are among those that have previously spoken to EA’s The Beat, providing advice on how to get into the industry.

What are your thoughts on Chuck Beaver’s advice on getting into the industry? Do you mod?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game news: Animation can be better than dialogue in games writing says Chris Avellone

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Game designers often make the mistake of using dialogue to in games writing, when animation can be better than words. That’s according to Obsidian Entertainment Creative Director Chris Avellone, whose credits include Fallout 2, Neverwinter Nights and Fallout: New Vegas.

Speaking to TheCriticalBit, Avellone said a common problem for game designers is “Lack of scriptwriting experience and brevity when doing a voiced game,” before adding  something a simple animation such as a shrug can have a better impact than dialogue.

“Not being aware that “tone” and emphasis on a word can help you edit out 2-3 extra sentences of foreshadowing – or not realizing that being able to call an “eye roll” or “shrug” animation is often better than any spoken response” he said, citing Uncharted writer Amy Hennig as a master of it.

Avellone is currently helping with InXile’s Kickstarter funded Wasteland 2. ‘The Godfather of post-apocalyptic RPGs’ raised almost $3 million in backing for the project.

You can get advice on getting into the games industry from the Obsidian Entertainment Creative Director here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are views on Avellone’s comments on the use of animation in games writing? Is it something that’s overlooked? What games do you think best use animation in story telling?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or here on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: Beefjack] 

Train2Game student industry experience diaries: Jonny Robinson at DR Studios weeks 36-38

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Train2Game designer Jonny Robinson is on a Train2Game work placement at DR Studios. In his latest industry experience diaries, Jonny describes QA Testing an upcoming title from DR Studios, the run up to Make Something Unreal Live and more.

Read what Jonny has to say about his Train2Game work placement  here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game Scribd page. Catch up with previous instalments here. 

Train2Game news: Diablo III enters open beta weekend

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Train2Game students can play Diablo III this weekend, as Blizzard has announced an open beta will be active from today through until Monday. The purpose of the Diablo III open beta is to stress test the servers ahead of next month’s release.

Those interested in taking part in this weekend’s Diablo III open beta need to log in to or create their Battle.net account at http://www.battle.net/, then download the game client from here. Diablo III beta testers can team up with friends and play all of the game’s five classes up to Level 13. A full FAQ on the beta is on Battlenet.

Beta testing is an excellent way for Train2Game students, especially those on the Games QA Tester course to practice their bug hunting skills. In a recent interview with The Train2Game Blog, Brawl Busters developers Rock Hippo told us that beta testing is “crucial” to the game development process.

For more on beta testing, how it’s useful for Train2Game students, and opportunities to get involved with it, keep reading the Train2Game blog.

Are you looking forward to Diablo III? Will you be taking part in the open beta this weekend?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game Gadget Show Live interview: Commando Kiwi artist Cat Forsyth

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Train2Game student teams recently took part in Make Something Unreal Live at The Gadget Show, a contest in association with Epic Games that saw winners Commando Kiwi walk away with a fully licensed Unreal Development for Ios. Their winning title was a game based on Fighting Fantasy book The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.

During the course of the show, Train2Game news spoke to art & animation student and Commando Kiwi member Cat Forsyth. In an interview that was recorded before the winners were announced, she told us how she was finding the experience, and even mentions the possibility of a job offer!

Read the interview here, or listen via Train2Game Radio. Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Cat, can you tell me what course you’re on, please?

I’m on the Train2Game Art & Animation course, and I’ve been doing it for about a year.

And how did you get into that?

I was actually a jeweller beforehand by trade, business was beginning to get a bit slow, so I decided to take the opportunity for the Train2Game course advertised, and I applied for the Art & Animation course,  and here I am now.

And how are you finding the course so far?

I’m enjoying the course very much. Unfortunately, because of The Gadget Show, I haven’t actually done anything in several months, but fingers crossed when the dust settles after this event, I’ll get back onto it.

How did Commando Kiwi, the team that you’re on, come about?

We went to the Train2Game & Epic Game Jam in November last year. None of us had met each other before and we got put together as a team, came up with the name Commando Kiwi, and that’s where we started.

What’s your role on the team?

I’m the UI Artist for the team, I’m predominantly doing the user interface, graphics, buttons, things like that.

So what’s been happening over the last few days?

Basically, we’ve sped up out working process; it’s a lot easier to work all together in one room. It’s a culmination of the last three or four months and we’re fine tuning things, tweaking things, making the game run smoother, things like that.

It must have been hard over the last few months, working towards this show and doing your studies at the same time.

A little bit, I think I sit on my computer until about 11 o’clock at night, that’s my life at the moment!

Hopefully this experience will help further your study and career path, do you think that’s going to be the case?

Yes, it’s a massive opportunity and I couldn’t imagine being where I am now six months ago. I’ve learned an awful lot, my skills have improved immeasurably, and I’ve had loads of opportunities meeting people, making contacts, learning. It’s been an invaluable opportunity.

How do you rate your chances here at Make Something Unreal Live?

I think the competition is quite good but I think that we’ve got a fair chance.

And you had an underhand interview happen here at the show?

Yes, I had an interview without knowing it. I got introduced to a gentleman who took my card, and fingers crossed after the event I can keep in contact with the possibility of a job.  It’s been very worthwhile.

Excellent, a fantastic opportunity. Thanks very much Cat.

For more information about Train2Game and Make Something Unreal Live visit www.train2game.com

Train2Game news: Codemasters launch Codemasters Racing publishing label

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British developer Codemasters has launched a new publishing label, Codemasters Racing, to provide “razor focus” on their racing franchises. The first game to be released under the Codemasters Racing name will be DiRT Showdown on Friday 25th May.

Other franchises that’ll be represented by the new label include official Formula 1 titles and the GRID series. Codemasters say it “will become a symbol of quality for racing gamers.”

“We have kept our reputation for delivering best-in-class racing games, and best-in-class racing games is now our razor focus going forward.” Codemasters chief of communications chief Rich Eddy told MCV.

“In racing, we are No.2 in Europe and that’s not good enough. We want to take racing games across multiple platforms and genres. So that players can play anytime, anywhere and on any device.

“Racing is our DNA, it is our heritage, it is our specialisation and it is our absolute focus going forward.” he concluded.

“To clarify Codemasters (as a name) is not “dead”, it remains the name of the company. We just have a new label called Codemasters Racing.” added Communications Manager Andy Gray on Twitter.

Codemasters have also announced a new service called RaceNet, a free extension for their games that will letplayers will be able to track their races, rewards and rivals. RaceNet will launch in BETA alongside the DiRT Showdown Demo on Tuesday 1st May.

There’s more Codemasters news on The Train2Game Blog, including last year’s interview with F1 2011 Chief Game Designer Steve Hood

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Codemasters new label? Is a focus on racing games a good move for them?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game news: Capcom launch Street Fighter 25th anniversary art tribute contest

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Train2Game Art & Animation students have an opportunity to showcase their skills and potentially see their work used by Capcom in a contest launched to celebrate the upcoming 25th Anniversary of Street Fighter.

“Whether you’re a professional or a first-timer, your art is welcome. Throughout the year, we’ll be showcasing our favorite pieces, and we’ll even utilize some of them in our official 25th Anniversary celebration activities. It’s a great opportunity to have your work become a part of history!” read a post on the Street Fighter website.

The Street Fighter artwork can be a traditional pencil or paint piece, digital artwork, or even photography. Two themes Capcom are looking entrants to expand on are ‘Twenty Five years of history’ or ‘I am Street Fighter’  The pieces that the publisher likes the most will be used in their official Street Fighter 25th anniversary material.

Train2Game students wishing to enter the contest have until Friday 4th May to do so. All the information on how to submit work is here.

Will you enter the Street Fighter 25th anniversary art contest?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.